PA Motorcycle Inspection Rip-off
 

I moved to Pennsylvania last January and registered and inspected my bike in February. I took the bike in for service yesterday and was informed that my inspection had expired in July!

From the PennDOT FAQ page:

"Upon passing a safety inspection most passenger cars and light trucks will receive an inspection sticker valid for one year from the month of inspection or one year from the expiration of the current inspection sticker on the vehicle...."

However, this does not apply to motorcycles! They publish a chart for motorcycles that in affect shows that if you register your bike between November and May, your first inspection is only good for 6 months. Of course you still get charged for a full year!

If I hadn't taken the bike in for service I would not have realized this was the case until next January. (The 7 on the inspection sticker looks a lot like a 1). Or have been stopped and ticketed!

Anyone know why motorcycles are treated different than cars here in Taxsylvania?

You moved one state too far to the east... Ohio doesnt do all that inspection junk! Who dey!

Welcome to the Commonwealth Of PA Our DOT SUCKs AZZ!!!!! Yes indeed this is just one of many bullch!t things they pull. BTW if you happen to get a ticket on your bike and they add a charge called CAT fund, don't pay it!!! Motor cycle traffic citations do not pay into the CAT fund. I found this out from a ABBAT lawyer. The cops still add it to the ticket and if you don't know the law and pay it, then it's your loss.

PA doesn't hate motorcycles per say, they just love to grab money every chance they get. I've delt with them a few times and even when they screw up, you still pay.

What part of PA You from? ...........Yes We call it PA

I have never had to do that. My bike is due for new registration and inspection each April. It costs me $18 for the registration and $30 for the inspection. From what I have seen on the forum the $18 is a bargain and I hope that lasts.

inspection
 

I think the reason they did that was that too many people were using the excuse that it was winter and there was snow on the ground so i could not get my bike inspected. Now you cant use that excuse the way they set the due dates up. i think the latest stickers expire in october(10) and the earliest stickers start in may(5). No more 11,12,1,2,3,and 4's. The first one gets you if you register your bike in any of those months. Your plate no longer matches your sticker.

Whats a motorcycle inspection???

Pa sucks. I hate it.

The only good thing about inspections in PA is if you live in a county that has emission inspection for cars you are exempt if you put on less that 5000 miles a year. That's the only good part, the rest blows.

haha I put around 35k miles a yr on my truck

its a byproduct of bitching on forums and electing idiots. if everyone called their representatives' office on the day they got their inspections, there would be no more inspections.

ya can't go through life watching teevee, talking big, and wishing for change without making payments for the privilege.

Stop complaining. It is only money, you can always make some more. Besides, you can now ride without a helmet. Good thing you are not in Maryland, :P

Haha. Welcome to PA. I will tell you this though, I ride with at least four others whos bikes have been out of inspection for who knows how long and have never gotten heat for it, at least in my area, a few miles south of Pittsburgh.

Pa. learned from NJ, same crap here

Gee even Kalifornia doesn't have inspections for cars or motorcycles. Big Brother at work obviously in PA!!!!

Only good thing about inspections that I have seen over the years is that there are some people who will ride a tire down to the cords, the brakes to nothing. Just my .02... other than that yeah inspections suck!!!

Well you could do like I did the past two years.... I figured out that chart thing. and I took my bike to a used car dealer/garage and had them inspect it... As long as you are smart enough to know you bike is safe, and do what's needed, take it in there.... They will slap a years sticker on your bike. Most used car dealers haven't quite figured out the new PA bike inspections out yet. Hopefully by the time they do it will be back to normal.

I don't know anyone that pays attention to the inspection sticker, including cops. Just ride and forget about it.

m.c inspection is a seperate certification in pa . i do them at my shop . you only get screwed the first time after that its yearly . one of my employees has been ride a bike with sticker from 1989. hasnt been pulled over but if your in an accident could be a problem
and in philly you could be impounded



JR

I don't know where you came up with that but overdue inspections is the perfect pc for a mv stop. MC stickers are not as visible as a car but it still gives the reason for a total review of the paperwork down to equipment.

NH limits mc inspections from June and a few months beyond although the owner is free to have them done almost any time. We do tend to get some snow from time to time. Cost is around $25 to $30. However registration is on the high side.

Inspections are not necessarily the idea of the state. Federal funding can be determined by the state's emission testing program if I'm not mistaken.

It's not about the money, it's the principle that I paid for a year, I should get a year.

I live in Chester Country and the way they calculate the school property taxes was found to be wrong several years ago, but they still do it that way unless you complain about your assessment.

I've been at gas stations and had cops come up to me and admire the bike and speak casually to me never once mentioning the 3 month old out of date sticker. I ride with guys who have stickers that are 8 years old. I "came up with this" from real world experience. :icon_confused:

Welcome to PA. I was behind a guy yesterday at a stop light who had cords showing all the way around his rear tire. I hate the inspections as well but some people need to be protected from themselves. I got hit with the same dealio having bought my bike in December the inspection was due in July. New bikes should be exempt for a year IMO.

2 or 3 years ago...
 

PA-DOT changed the months you could have your motorcycle inspected. If it was due in the cold and snowy months, it would not be likely that you could get to an inspection station.

Dave

Arizona did the same thing to me. Here in the Valley of the Sun, it couldn't be because of the snow factor. That may be the case in the mountains.

Anyway, I bought the bike used in April, and took it to get inspected, and they put a sticker on it for September. The excuse was that the original one expired in September, so they want to keep it on a Sept - Sept schedule. OH, PLEASE!! It only cost me like $12, but like you said, it's not the money, but the principle of the thing.

Mine's due in April also, and I never had a problem. Costs me $18.01 and I'm good for a year. Maybe it's a red-tape thing that always happens to somebody else, but you just happened to be the somebody else on this one.

Interesting, according to the chart on PennDOTs website for Motorcycle Inspection Expirations your inspection should expire in October. Once you have it done again in October you are on a yearly expiration.

http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms...ons/Chart4.pdf

I'm so glad Oklahoma doesn't do inspections any more. Nothing uglier than that stupid sticker on the fork tube.

You're just getting to know PA.... I moved outa there after finding out that the town I live in had an "Occupation Privilege Tax" on top of all the other taxes we paid!
When I checked it out, I was told the tax was there because it was a privilege to live in that town. :icon_doh:

Get outa there as soon as you can! :icon_couchhide:

You didn't pay for a year, you paid for an inspection.

Massachusetts has the same thing: all bike inspections expire on the same day (May 31st.) We have the added joy that all bike registrations expire on the same day, too (Dec 31st.)

I agree, I am too lazy to put my stock pipes back on (i run drags with no baffles) to pass inspection so I will take my chances. I figure I have a valid license, registration, and insurance.

this is bull!!! I lived in Cali for 4 years and they most certainly DO have inspections on cars and now MC's

lol, that's funny

:icon_bricks: WOW! That must make it really difficult to get an appointment if every bike in Massachusetts has to get an inspection in the same month! The lines must be really long.

Not sure where you got your info from, but NJ doesn't charge for inspections, unless you take it to a private facility. As far as registrations go, I got my bike in Dec. and registered it in Jan. The woman at DMV gave me a registration that expired at the end of June. I asked about it, and she said that all MC registrations expire in either June or July, depending on where in the alphabet your last name falls. That being said, I didn't have to pay for a full year, I paid a pro-rated amount. And I'm glad it was in June, as I got in just under the wire for the $20+ jump in registration fee.

Because the place is run by democrats. I was born and raised in PA but escaped at an early age to join the Navy. Only go back to visit now.

I would believe that motorcycles are treated different than cars in most states. The first example that comes to mind is that you need a different license for each. I'm glad they treat them differently here in NJ. Even w/ the recent hike in registration fees, it's still less money to register my bike than it is to register my car. And let's not even get into the difference in insurance rates. I live in NJ, the state w/ the most oppressive car insurance rates in the country, yet it costs me

Yes I know that they are separate certifications....but a lot of used car dealers here have both... I was screwed at least twice on it. I got my bike in April 04... Sometime after that I think 06, when time for my inspection, in April, they said "new law" sticker only good till October" and when I got it done in October, at a different place, same thing, I had to get it done again in April..... Ever after that, I have been ok, but have not went to dealers. Maybe someone just messed up and couldn't read the paperwork. At more than one place.

Not true! California has an annual smog inspection on cars over two years old, and a bill that is on hold in the senate for a smog inspection on Mc's. There is no mechanical inspection other than the smog system.

I recently moved to NV but lived in CA most of my life! I sure miss straddling lanes!

U moved two state too far to the east, Indiana doesn't either...

I just sold a Honda with an '04 sticker on it.
The Harley is up to date though.
Never been pulled over for it, even got a speeding ticket once and the cop didn't even notice the inspection sticker was 3 years old.